Not So Little Stuart

11.14.10 Update: GOODBYE to Lynn, Justin & Ebony!
Have a safe trip home, you will be missed. Come back soon!



Ah, where to start.

We got 3 newbies from England (see above). They are Ebony, Justin and Lynn (she’s from Scotland!). Ebony has been staying with me and we’ve had a great time comparing our English. Sadly though, they leave next week. I’ve had such a good time getting to know them and experiencing the worldwide brotherhood!

Me and Ebony

Out in service - Left - Right: Naomi, Chris, me, Justin & Lynn

The other ‘exciting’ event is that we found we have a critter in the house. We’ve named it Stuart. At first we thought it was a mouse but we have officially confirmed it’s a rat. it was about 8 o’clock at night and I’m pretty sure the entire village heard our blood curdling screams. When I went to go get Roy (our landlord; He lives in the front house) he was already on his way over to check on us. I asked him if he if could come and get rid of it but unfortunately all the rat did was run and hide and we couldn’t find him again. Roy was very amused by the event but assured us that we would be fine. Ebony and I didn’t sleep a wink that night. Actually, we haven’t been getting much sleep this whole week because we keep waking up to every sound. But we’ve been setting poison every night since Stuart's big debut and I finally think we’ve gotten rid of him. (Update on Stuart: We saw him again tonight, we're getting bigger guns...) We’re traumatized.

We had a big storm last Wednesday morning, it was scary. It sounded like it was all happening right over our house. The lighting was very close and the thunder was very very loud. It lasted about 45 minutes, then the lighting and thunder died down but the rain stayed for the rest of the day which is rare since usually it's all over in 15 minutes. When we get a whole day of rain the locals call it “White Rain.”

Service was an experience that day since the only paved road is the main road and some of the trenches flood. The village we were working that morning had some houses that were about 2 miles from the main road and required driving. So me, Ebony, Chris and Naomi ended up driving out to them. I don’t exaggerate when I say this: it felt like we were driving on ice. The mud was so slick and thick and there were trenches on both sides of the road so if we slid in any direction the car would end up in the water. So the entire time we were driving, both in and out, we were all holding our breath and praying to Jehovah we don’t get stuck or slide into a trench. Once we got back on the main road we all gave out a sigh of relief in unison. It was really funny, and no, we didn’t find anyone home.

Study by candlelight: Blackouts are very common during rain,

although sometimes we get them when it's not even raining...

I gave my first demonstration since I’ve been here a few Thursdays ago. Exciting!

I also got to go to Black Bush for the first time on Tuesday. It’s a very large farming community and the houses are very spread out so there’s lots of walking. It’s not as developed as the villages and for many years they didn’t have electricity and the residents depended much on the rain water for drinking, bathing, cooking, etc. Development has started but by now many people have moved out to the villages. It’s about 30 minute drive to get from the main road into Black Bush (not just because it’s far but because the roads are horrible! So many pot holes. It makes for an entertaining bus ride though) and depending on where in Black Bush you’re going it can take more time. The walking territory though is very smooth, there’s just a lot of it. The people are very friendly to visitors since it’s not common for people to just ‘pop in’ and I was able to get some good conversations and return visits.

Coming up on Friday is the pioneer meeting and then in 2 weeks is our Circuit Assembly. I can’t wait for that, I hope to have more to share. In the meantime if you have any questions please feel free to email me, I’d love to hear from you!

And remember there are more pictures in the album! (the link is on the right).